Chapter Fifty-Two: The Hours of Night

In the stifling office, a dozen or so people—some with hair, some without—sat in their chairs, staring blankly at the scenes unfolding in the game. They watched as Xie Jing left the event booth on his own, walked over to Galantis, and finally reached out to gently touch Galantis’s delicate face.

Everyone’s expressions transformed into utter shock.

What on earth was this? NPC teasing NPC? Was this some kind of joke from that legendary coder?

“We’ve checked the data—Galantis’s code shows no issues!”

“Then tell me what’s going on! Our game characters are interacting with that virus! This means someone can alter our code, but all the data uploaded to the national server is kept right here in this building!”

Brother Zhang was nearly beside himself with rage, pacing back and forth across the room. The sudden appearance of this character filled him with a deep sense of foreboding.

“That person must be in our building! It’s an inside job! It has to be! Otherwise, there’s no way they could change our data!”

This game was a critical pillar of GooseTech’s gaming world. Nothing could go wrong, or he could kiss his supervisor position goodbye.

“Notify security immediately, get them to check the surveillance footage. And every computer that might have touched the data—check them all, leave no trace unexamined!”

“And what about those activities I asked you to prepare? Are they ready?”

“They’ll be online tonight. Events involving conversions need multiple rounds of testing!”

Brother Zhang slammed the desk fiercely, his gaze wolfish as he looked around the room.

“Get them online as soon as they’re ready. Until we find the mastermind, we need to win back the players’ attention. Do you understand?!”

“Yes, understood!”

“Everyone, get to work! Old Xie from the network department, stay behind.”

Everyone filed out, leaving only Old Xie, responsible for network security and data information, seated at his desk.

“What do you make of this incident?” Brother Zhang asked.

Old Xie pondered for a long while, shook his head, and said, “I’ve worked in network security for years, but I’ve never seen anything like this. No matter how skilled a hacker is, after an intrusion, there’s always a trace left behind, let alone arranging such a large NPC in the game.

Normally, the event file would be at least 500MB, and it’d be obvious. But our programmers have searched line by line and found nothing extra—almost as if…”

Old Xie glanced at Xie Jing on the game screen and muttered, “Almost as if a person who shouldn’t exist in the game suddenly appeared, as though he were human—not a human made from data. So there’s nothing to find…”

“You mean, like those time-travel novels? Old Xie, I didn’t expect you—almost fifty—to still enjoy what those young folks are reading!”

Brother Zhang plainly didn’t believe Old Xie’s nonsense. As a rational man, he knew their society followed the path of science, not the world of fantasy.

Neither of them realized that Old Xie’s wild guess was the truth. In this world, Xie Jing really had appeared, crossing over into the game with a system.

At that moment, Xie Jing was telling Galantis everything he knew.

“My brother… he gained the powers of a demon? That can’t be!” Galantis couldn’t believe what Xie Jing was telling her.

“He reveres the light, he’s the enemy of demons, and has defeated countless of them. How could he become a demon?”

“It’s precisely because your brother admires the light that he has a resolute faith, able to resist the blood curse. He is still a holy warrior, committed to destroying demons—only now he uses the power of demons to do so.”

Xie Jing couldn’t bring himself to tell Galantis that Nirbas had once attacked players. Seeing the little girl’s tearful, pitiful expression, he could only comfort her gently.

“You must believe in your brother. Even if he becomes a demon, he will still yearn for the light and still love his sister.”

Galantis choked back her tears, wiped her face clean, and smiled at Xie Jing.

“I believe you, Mr. Edward. Even if my brother becomes a demon, he’s still my brother.”

That smile, pure and bright, blossomed on her pale face like a sacred snow lotus, enchanting in its beauty.

Xie Jing wasn’t the kind to lose his composure in front of a pretty girl, yet when Galantis smiled so sincerely, he found himself momentarily stunned.

Galantis was a shy girl, with a touch of brotherly affection. Now, as Xie Jing stared at her, even her ears turned red.

“Mr. Edward, you carry a strong aura of light. Are you a holy warrior as well?” Galantis, embarrassed, shifted the topic.

Xie Jing came to his senses, coughed lightly, and replied, “I’m not a holy warrior, but the powers I use are derived from the light.”

The “aura of light” referred to the Ultraman energy within Xie Jing—a pure, radiant force.

Galantis uttered a soft “oh,” then turned her curious gaze toward the crowded racing booth.

“Don’t you need to oversee the event you reported? Nightfall hasn’t arrived yet, is it alright for you to wander around?”

“Nightfall?” Xie Jing was baffled. He’d played the game for ages and had never heard of such a thing.

“Yes, in five hours, nightfall will arrive. Then we’ll be free to move about!”

Xie Jing couldn’t understand. He looked at Galantis, still seated, and asked, “Are you all unable to move right now?”

“We can move!” Galantis stood up, walked a few steps, then sat again.

“Then why do you all stay in place?” Xie Jing couldn’t figure it out.

“You don’t know?” Galantis was a little surprised, but explained patiently.

“Ever since these outsiders arrived, the world has been filled with an energy called Version Force. We just need to stay put and we’ll gradually absorb it. When nightfall comes, the Version Force will create a double to replace us, and then we can move freely!”

“Can’t you skip absorbing Version Force?”

“No, we can’t.” Galantis shook her head. “Without Version Force, we’d disappear. Plus, it boosts our strength—sometimes even grants us special abilities.”

“Don’t you find it boring?”

“Not at all! Standing here, I can watch so many interesting outsiders. And when night comes, everyone gathers at the tavern to share fun stories. It’s never boring.”

“I see!”

Xie Jing hadn’t expected this world to work in such a way. Frankly, it suited an online game setting—otherwise, if NPCs wandered everywhere, players would never find them when switching classes.